Device for simultaneously cutting the corners of a box to provide closure flaps



Dec. 8, 1959 GROSS 2,915,932

DEVICE FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CUTTING THE CORNERS OF A BOX TO PROVIDE CLOSURE FLAPS Filed Jan. 15, 1957 A? INVENTOR./5 75500005 .Z 4005.;

(47' 7' ORA E) United States Patent p DEVICE FOR SHVIULTANEOUSLY CUTTING THE CORNERS OF A BOX TO PROVIDE CLOSURE FLAPS Theodore J. Gross, White Plains, N.Y., assignor to Union Bag-Camp Paper Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Virginia Application January 15, 1957, Serial No. 634,294

6 Claims. (Cl. 83-440) This invention relates to a device for cutting the connected flaps of a shipping container.

More specifically the invention relates to a device for cutting the connected corners of each half of the telescoped box disclosed in my application for patent, Serial No. 475,151, filed December 14, 1954. The cutting of the corners converts each half of the box into a separate container with closure flaps.

An object of the invention is to provide a device of the type stated which is simple in design, rugged in construction, economical to manufacture, and can be easily transported to any location where such boxes are to be used.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device of the present invention with one half of the box in position prior to cutting the corners;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device;

Figure 3 is a vertical section of one of the corners of the device taken along the lines 3-3 of Figure 2, showing a portion of the box after cutting;

Figure 4 is a section taken along the lines 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a section taken along the lines 5--5 of Figure 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings there is shown in Figure 1 a base on which are mounted and secured four cutting members, positioned to receive and out each corner of the inverted box shown above the device. It will be understood that the positions of the cutting members can be varied to conform to the corners of the particular box being cut and that the number of such members can be changed if the box has more or less corners. Each member is made up of inner and outer guide plates 11 and 12 spaced to receive therebetween the walls of the box being cut. The top edges 11a and 12a are flared to facilitate insertion of the walls of the box. As shown herein the guide plates 11 and 12 are each bent in the form of a right angle to conform to the corners of a rectangular box. If necessary or desirable'such plates can be bent to any angle to conform to the corner angles of the boxes being cut.

Each cutting member is provided with suitable means 2,915,932 Pa ented Dec; 1959 for holding a cutter'blade securely in position angularly across the corner of such member. As shown more fully in Figures 3 and 4, the blade holder is made up of a base member 13 secured to the outer guide plate 12 and a clamping member 14 held to the member 13 by a wing bolt 15. One end of a blade 16 is clamped firmly between the members 13 and 14 while the other end projects through slots in the plates 11 and 12. The cutting edge of the blade is pointed upward to cut apart the connected flaps of the half box as it is pushed downwardly against such cutting edge. To prevent the cut flaps from snagging against the bottom edge of the blade 16 as the half box is withdrawn and also to tie the inner and outer guide plates 11 and 12 in their relative spaced positions, a connecting plate 17 is secured to both such guide plates (Figure 5).

As described in the said co-pending application Serial No. 475,151, the corner fold lines 18 of each half of the box are scored, perforated, slotted or otherwise weakened from the top edges to the center score line 19. Consequently, the cutting device of the present invention may be effectively employed to out such corner fold lines by inverting the half of the box, positioning each corner between the guide plates, and pressing the entire half downwardly so that the cutting blades cut through all the corners at the same time. It will be noted that the blades are positioned at the proper depths so that the cuts will be of the desired length. Thus it will be apparent from the foregoing description that this device will cut the corners of the said half box more quickly and efficiently than the hand operation heretofore used.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patents is:

1. A device for cutting each of the connected corners of a half of a box whereby the cutting of the corners converts each half of the box into a separate container with closure fiaps comprising a base, a plurality of cutting blades supported on said base, one blade being provided for each connected corner of the box half to be cut, each of said blades being positioned for cutting at a predetermined distance from said base, spaced guide plates at opposite ends of each of said blades engaging inner and outer sides respectively of said box half, said spaced guide plates including outer guide plates for closely receiving the outer edges of the box half and inner guide plates for receiving the inner edges of the box half with the connected corners of the box half positioned between said outer and inner guide plates and engaging said blades in a transverse plane which is substantially parallel to said base whereby each of the connected corners are cut to substantially the same distance from the edge.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the top edges of the inner and outer guide plates are each flared to facilitate insertion of the walls of the box.

3. The device of claim 1 in which the inner and outer guide plates are shaped in the form of a right angle.

4. The device of claim 3 in which the cutter blade is A positioned angularly across the corners of the guide plates.

tangular in cross-section and four upstanding cutter members are positioned on said base to simultaneously receive each of the connected corners of said rectangular box.

References Cited in the file of this patent 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS Subin Apr. 24, 1923 Tyreman Mar. 10, 1931 Bens Jan. 2, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 26, 1931 

